


A Lot Can Happen In A Few Centuries spinoff fics

by kommandantmilkshake



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28006365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kommandantmilkshake/pseuds/kommandantmilkshake
Summary: humans find the other shade lord (the female one).female shade lord attempts to undilute them.in order to piss her off and to spite her, they instead get rid of the void in their bodies.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 17





	1. getting rid of the darkness their bodies hold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spectre123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectre123/gifts).



She floated around, in all her misty glory. She was looking for more of her kin to fix. FIX.

If there was that boy from before, chances are, there are others. So she wandered. And wandered.

And then they were found.

* * *

The group looked around at each other, before one of them got up. 

The man who got up had eyebags and seemed to be perpetually disheveled. He grabbed his rifle, before grabbing a few magazines and loading it. He stored the rest.

"Alright, there's something outside. I don't know what, but if I die, make sure you're already far, far away."

It just... felt wrong. Felt very wrong. It felt wrong outside. It just felt very very wrong. He didn't know how else to describe it.

The doc piped up. "How are we even supposed to get away? We're stuck here. Our best bet is to close the blast door."

The man with eyebags thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. I doubt it would hold it back, and it might just be wasting the power and the integrity of the blast doors. I'll see what's outside and then kill it."

The one with eyebags gripped his rifle, before making his way to the hallways that led to the outside of the cave.

What he did not expect to see was smoke. Pitch black smoke.

* * *

She moved back as one of the void beings raised a contraption at her while she observed them. Hm. They seemed uncooperative. Well, she would fix that as well. 

**"Hush now, my kin... you will be fixed... I'm here for you..."**

And she floated closer.

* * *

The fog floated towards him. He was going to be fixed? No. No no no. LIES. LIES. ALL OF THEM ARE LIES.

HE KNEW THAT. HE SAW WHAT THEY WERE CAPABLE OF. WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO OTHERS. NO. NO MORE.

"Hey! Back off! I WILL NOT HESITATE TO SHOOT YOU IF YOU DO SO MUCH AS TRY TO MOVE!"

The fog ignored him, simply moving closer.

The man was starting to become a little more afraid, though he still had to defend everyone and alert them.

But first... he had to try something.

* * *

The lord flinched at the thoughts in the being's mind. They were chaotic, but they all had something similar. They were all screaming that she was going to kill them, that she was going to obliterate them, to wipe them off the face of the realm. No, no no.

She would never harm one of her kind.

And what a strange language. En-gl-ish... hmmm... that seemed... alien to her.

No matter, now she knew what they spoke. And she could now understand.

**"My kin... I merely wish to fix you... your soul is diluted... I can fix that... I will..."**

And so she floated closer and closer as the being backed off more and more into the darkness cave.

* * *

"Go away! Come on, leave! Leave or I WILL SHOOT!"

It spoke English. He didn't know how. But now their security would be compromised. If this thing could understand them, what about the other bugs after them?

No. He wouldn't. He wouldn't let it. He would destroy it.

He began firing multiple precise shots at the fog, before he heard a click.

He then tore the empty mag from the rifle, before throwing it at the mist. It didn't do so much as flinch. 

He reached down, grabbing another magazine before slamming it into the rifle. He then racked it, before taking aim at the now DANGEROUSLY CLOSE FOG.

* * *

Upon being close enough, she materialized some of her void tendrils. She would fix them. She would never hurt them.

She reached for the being with her void tendrils, already picturing the next steps for her newfound kin.

Once they saw this, the being backed off, contraption still pointed at her... before turning and running into the cave.

She could sense more void in the cave. Good. She would have more to care for! 

Ecstatic at her new discovery, she zipped into the cave, looking around at all the things cluttering the insides of it, committing them to memory.

* * *

The man ran deeper and deeper into the cave, shouting at the other survivors with him.

"THE FOG! IT'S A FOG! IT ISN'T AFFECTED BY BULLETS! WE HAVE TO LEAD IT OUTSIDE!"

The doc turned, before nodding. "I think I might have the solution to the problem. Get on the bed."

* * *

She slowed her pace to look around some more. Such interesting... drawings. Vividly detailed too.

Oh, but a lot of them seemed... cynical. Bad memories. Won't do.

So she had to fix them.

Wait...

What? WHAT? WHAT!? WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!? THE VOID... IT WAS GONE! THE VOID SIGNATURE WAS GONE, THAT EVER PRESENT FEELING WAS GONE! COULD IT BE... NO! NO NO NO! NOOOOOOOO!

* * *

The man in the lab coat cackled as his pupils began to glow white, along with the others in the group. 

"Hmmm... so it worked. Good."

The man got out of the bed, hand on his forehead. 

"How....? How was that so fast? And what exactly did you do?"

The lab coat wearing man turned to the man in the plaid jacket.

"I removed that... black substance from us all. I am just as surprised as you are. It shouldn't have happened that quickly, or even work at all. Hopefully there are no side effects."

The man with the eyebags' eyes darted to the hallways of the cave turned lab, before raising his rifle.

"It's here!" He shouted, finger very close to pulling the trigger.

* * *

She looked around in a frenzy. That void signature. WHY WAS IT GONE!? WHAT HAPPENED!?!?!? THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPEND!!!! NO!!! NOOO!!!!

She then turned to look at the being wearing something white. WHITE. WHITE QUEEN. WHITENEST. THAT WYRM.

No... wait. The being wasn't a bug, and she couldn't see any of the signature attire of that damned kingdom on any of them.

She began to calm down, still reeling from the shock of feeling the void signature... simply cease to exist.

**"My children... what have you done?"**

* * *

Oh, so that thing thought they were its children. Not on his watch.

He adjusted his rubber gloves, before pointing at the fog. 

"No. We are not your children, despite your delusions, strange being. I have seen my parents before the war, and they certainly weren't an entity completely shrouded in vantablack smoke, which for some reason does not reflect any light at all."

At this, the fog seemingly recoiled, before a black appendage came out of it.

**"My children... come with me... I can fix you..."**

He sighed, before grabbing the vials of the black substance that he extracted from every group member.

"We are not your children. I have reason to believe this black substance that I have extracted from ourselves is... related to you. So, take it. It is gone from us. You may no longer bother us, or attempt to... do... unethical procedures on us. We would appreciate it if you leave."

He placed the vials on the floor, before rolling the vials to the fog... and a black appendage came out of it before taking the vials.

He turned to look at the rest of the survivors. They were reaching for their weapons. He motioned for them to hold it... though he took his specialized rifle as well.

* * *

The lord was... not happy, to say the least. What??? How did they remove the void from their bodies without hurting themselves?

She looked at the tubes that housed the void. Such a miniscule amount... so that was why the void signature was gone. They removed it from their bodies...

But why? Did they actually think she was after the void itself and not them? No, no... she would simply have to fix them with more void. From her abyssal sea. FROM HER. HERS ONLY. THEY WERE HERS.

The beings probably read her mind or saw a visual cue, because her thoughts were then interrupted by multiple loud bangs and a beam of blue light.

* * *

"KEEP FIRING!" The plaid jacket man shouted, as he unloaded the entirety of the LMG into the fog.

The man with eyebags was also in on the fight, mag dumping the rifle's contents into the fog.

The lab coat man himself was firing a strange contraption at the fog. It seemed to have something blue going through it, and it fired a beam of blue light, which it sustained for several seconds.

The rest of the group had sidearms and shotguns, firing at the fog as well with the others.

The fog recoiled, moving closer and closer to the outside of the cave with each second of sustained fire.

After 2 minutes of sustained fire, the fog retreated, exiting the cave as the group finally stopped firing.

The lab coated man ran to the door controls, before quickly shutting the blast door meant to hold off a siege if there ever was one.

"So... anyone mind telling me what the fuck just happened?"

One of the group members with a shotgun asked, looking at the lab coat man.

The man in the lab coat lowered his rifle, before setting it on the desk.

"Well... here's what I believe is the cause. The fog seems to think WE are its children. And that fog is also vantablack, never reflects anything, even from my specialized cannon, and it can create more... focused extensions which seem to be tentacles. Tendrils perhaps. And I believe what I just removed from us and threw at it was how it was able to find us, and why it thought us related to it as well."

One of the sidearm wielding ones piped up. "It also spoke English. Dunno how it learned that."

The man with the eyebags got ready to simplify. "In layman's terms, because of the black things in the vial that doc removed from us, it thought we were related to it and tried to kidnap us."

The man in the plaid jacket groaned. "As if those bugs in the impractical armor trying to capture us weren't enough. We have to find other survivors, we can't keep going on like this. Who knows if there's more bugs or things like it. We won't last this long if they find us and begin trying to... capture us."

"I agree." The shotgun wielding man got up, before moving to another area of the cave.

The rest of the group followed, each of them moving to different areas. The man with eyebags stayed behind, leaning against the wall in a fetal position.

Meanwhile, the lab coat wearing man was busy jotting down notes, writing everything down, while also typing on the computer should the physical records be destroyed or tampered with.

* * *

She was dismayed. Not only was she forced to flee by the beings with the chaotic souls, they also seemed to possess something that could fire a beam akin to the rays of light a CERTAIN DREAM GODDESS had utilized.

It seemed she could no longer trace them through the void signature as well.

However... the void that had been given to her, most likely as a distraction, certainly had stories to tell.

And so, she got to work in the abyss, viewing what memories these special void fluids had in them. 


	2. humans tell the nightmare shitface to fuck off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a different group of humans (about 4 humans) bump into the other grimm troupe half.

The man walked along the roads of the buildings, holding his rifle. He looked around, seeing that the coast was clear. He then motioned with his hand to go forward. When he did this, 3 more men came out.

1 man was armed with a knife. The 2nd man had knuckles and a bat. The 3rd one had gas grenades on him. All 3 of them had gas masks with varying quality. The man with the rifle had a vest. The man with the knife had a backpack full of supplies, food and water. The man with knuckles arguably carried the least, only wearing a jacket and some jeans with a balaclava covering the rest of his head.

The man with the gas grenades had a sidearm on his holster. He followed the man with the rifle. The man with the rifle had gloves on his hands. The man with the knife had a brown coat.

By now, they knew what to do in the wasteland. They had to kill to survive. Morals were virtually nonexistent. Anything could happen to them, so they could never surrender. Never give up. They had to win or die trying. Or else a fate worse than death might be what happens if they lose a fight.

They had searched whatever buildings they could find for supplies, anything edible, weapons, anything they could understand. It was in vain. None of the texts they recovered even remotely resembled a written language that existed before the war. 

None of them talked to each other at all, opting to motion with their hands and heads instead of speaking. Not like there was anything to talk about.

The man with the rifle held up a hand. The 3 men stopped walking. The man with the rifle turned to the other 3. He pointed to them with his hand, before pointing to a set of rocks behind him. The 3 men seemed to try and process the meaning of it, before the man with the knuckles nodded. He made his way over to the first rock, before sitting down and leaning against it.

The 2 other men seemed to get the idea. The man with the gas grenades sat down, on the other rock, followed by the man with the knife. The man armed with the rifle walked to the rock in the middle, before sitting down, placing his rifle on his lap. 

In order to regain their energy after a day of scavenging, they had to rest. And rest they did. They had dreams of the world before the war, before everything went to hell and back, before their lives stopped being the definition of normal.

It was a hard knock life.

* * *

The Troupe wandered the wastes, exploring the area. They were tasked with searching for nightmare flames to collect and bring to their Nightmare Heart. Grimmkin flew around the wandering Troupe, to protect them by intercepting any threats and to look for any trouble or flames ahead of them. 

They were however at a disadvantage, not having their Troupe Master himself to help protect them. They had heard strange stories about these wastes. Any time a Higher Being or lesser being attempted to lay claim to this area of the wasteland, they would soon collapse, either due to hostile creatures or lack of food, corruption, infighting, the list goes on and on. It was strange. 

How could Higher Beings be so incompetent that the kingdoms they attempt to build always collapse, especially in this area? It was something to be wary about, especially because the Troupe did not want to be destroyed in an area such as this. They were already so far away from the other half of the Troupe, and they did NOT want to die here.

Although... it did mean there were many nightmare flames to collect and feed to the Heart. Which was good. It just... felt wrong in this area. It was like something bad would happen, any time.

A pair of Grimmkin had ventured away from the rest of the Troupe, searching for nightmare flames. They flew along, committing to memory the strange buildings of the past. Some buildings were from kingdoms that had attempted to lay claim to this land. Some structures however did not resemble any of the buildings or structures from other kingdoms, and they looked significantly more worn and battered than the other buildings.

The stranger buildings seemed to be the oldest ones. The Grimmkin slowed their pace, before looking at each other. 

"We were supposed to find nightmare flames! We can't return empty handed again!"

"Calm down, calm down. I know that. We just have to keep looking." 

"But I'm so tired! And we might get attacked by feral bugs!"

"Well it's either the feral bugs, which have a chance to kill us, and the Troupe, which has a guaranteed chance of getting rid of us for more competent, powerful Grimmkin! Choose your path!"

The 1st Grimmkin pondered this, before nodding.

"Fine. I'll help you."

The 2nd Grimmkin laughed. 

"I knew you would."

The 2 of them kept flying again, searching for nightmare flames. 

* * *

The 4 men had finished resting. The man with the rifle got up first, followed by the man with the gas grenades a few minutes later and then the man with the bat and the man with the knife. The man with the rifle motioned his hand forward. The 3 men nodded, before following him as he walked along the wastes.

"Hello? Nightmare flames?" They heard a childlike voice say. The man with the rifle motioned with his hand for them to get to cover, and to not make a sound. The man with the gas grenades peeked out, before quickly hiding again.

He had seen a strange creature resembling a small black cloud with a mask on it. The mask had lines going through the eyeholes of the mask. The creature also seemed to be the source of the childlike voice. They should keep hiding until it leaves.

Eventually, it did. Another childlike voice had beckoned it to them, telling it to go back to a Troupe of sorts. Hm. This would be a problem. After the voices had moved away, the men had looked over their hiding spots. Coast was clear.

The men could still see faint red though. Perhaps that was the source of these creatures. None of them wondered why they somehow spoke English. What mattered however was that they could talk, and they might be trying to build a kingdom here. That simply won't do. They had to get rid of them.

The man with the rifle turned to his companions, before motioning to the red in the distance, then making a cut throat motion. The man with the knife tilted his head, as if asking what the fuck did he just mean.

The man with the rifle motioned to the red in the distance, before moving his fist to his open hand. The men finally seemed to get the idea, because they began checking their gas masks. Good. Onwards.

They stalked the two floating creatures, making sure not to be too close, because they apparently could sense them... perhaps through that nightmare flame they mentioned, whatever that was. They stopped when they saw a caravan with red all over it and more floating creatures. So this was the source.

* * *

The pill bug stared at the wasteland outside of the caravan. They had been searching for nightmare flames for quite some time now, and they mostly turned up empty handed. No sentient creatures meant no flames to harvest. He had been in the Troupe for a while now, being one of the several first members to join Grimm. As a reward, he had been told to manage this half of the Troupe, so they could have a wider reach.

Hmmm... it was probably because of the fact that he was one of the older members, which meant he knew more about the Troupe than the average Troupe member. He was also quite competent at managing the Troupe, telling them what to do, and where to search. Ah. Here comes 2 Grimmkin now.

"I see you have returned! Have you two noticed anything?" 

One of them had looked up, thinking, before looking back at him. "I thought I sensed nightmare flames nearby, but there was nothing."

The other Grimmkin had a look of bewilderment on their face. "YOU WHAT!? AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME OVER TO CHECK!?!?"

The pill bug sighed. "It is alright. However, if you do sense a nightmare flame nearby, even if you think it is a trick of your mind, explore the area. Check that area again."

The Grimmkin both nodded. "Yes, Lord Miovok."

"Go."

The Grimmkin exited the caravan. He groaned, pinching the area between his mask holes. Honestly journey was a nightmare in of itself. He would tell them to harvest the flames that come from them as a joke because of this journey, however he knew the consequences of consuming one's own flame.

* * *

The men watched two cloudlike creatures come out of the caravan, before floating away. They noticed that it was where they were followed too. Alright. From what they've seen, these creatures patrol the surrounding area, likely looking for threats. Threats like them. The man with the knife fought back a laugh at the thought.

They had all somehow managed to plan the attack. Without speaking. At all. Yay humans. The gas grenade wielding man would surround the area in gas grenades, before the man with the rifle enters and begins killing anything that moves. Throw a gas grenade in the caravan for good measure. Then kill anything outside and make a run for it.

The men had moved dangerously close to the caravan.

3.

One of the floating things wandered close.

2\. 

A giraffe weevil with a similar looking mask to the floating things turned to the direction of their hiding spot.

1.

A dozen of the cloudlike creatures emerged, to fight them off.

The man pulled the pin of the gas grenade, before chucking it at the entrance of the caravan. It soon released the poisonous cloud it contained, causing the giraffe weevils to spasm and drop dead. The puffy balls of black smoke seemed shocked at this, before approaching the group. The man with the baseball bat swung them at the creatures, causing them to disappear.

Well, that was easy. The man with the gas grenades threw 3 more gas grenades to completely cover the surrounding area of the caravan, before he entered it along with his companions. He looked inside of the caravan. There were a bunch of bugs in masks, just like the giraffe weevils outside. 

"Attack!" One of them shouted, charging at the men. The man with the bat let the insect run into his knuckles, knocking him out. The men quickly got to work, beating the bugs to death and decorating them with cuts. 

They soon came upon a pill bug with a similar mask, although he seemed to stand his ground. "What do you creatures want?" 

The man with the gas grenades spoke for the first time in years. "We want you out of these lands. Goodbye, insect." He pulled the pin off one of the gas grenades, before dropping it and letting it roll to the pill bug's feet. 

"Make sure to greet your inferior ancestors in the afterlife. You are just as weak as them, only a mere change in size being the difference." He said, as the pill bug spasmed and coughed and reached out to the man. 

He turned, before walking to the exit of the caravan, followed by his companions.

They fled the caravan, before turning to look at it. The caravan was full of corpses. Whatever survived the cuts and bruises died to the poisonous gas from the grenades.

Good riddance. 

* * *

The pill bug gasped and sputtered as the poisonous cloud had entered him. In his final moments, everything seemed to... slow down. At least he no longer felt the pain. 

He thought about what those creatures had told him. His ancestors? Inferior? A mere change in size? So... was his species truly that weak? Would he ever see his Master again?

...No. There is nothing left to live for here. He remembers nothing but the Troupe. He should be thankful, at least these creatures let him die in the Troupe's caravan. With all the bugs he failed to protect. Oh well. It is too late for regrets now.

And he closed his eyes for the last time, never opening them again. His ghost emerged from his body, before exploring the rest of the caravan. All of them had died because of the poisonous air. Satisfied with exploring, he passed on, his ghost fading away. Perhaps he would meet his ancestors soon.

* * *

Grimm reeled in shock at what he felt. He felt half of the Troupe simply disappear. Something had happened to them. He could also no longer sense any of the Grimmkin or the bugs under his command. He had to go. NOW.

"Brumm, call for several Grimmkin Masters! We have to go! I felt the half of the Troupe under the command of Miovok disappear!" 

Brumm nodded upon hearing the urgency in Grimm's voice.

They had to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i headcanon grimmkin to be childish but also articulate sometimes  
> also i dont know how to write ranks in the grimm troupe so uhh


	3. captured sibling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> human gets captured by void beings  
> no, this is not the same shade lord, this is yet ANOTHER demented old man with the powers of a god.

He looked around the room. It was pitch black. He could make out a few white things approaching him. He turned to look at the closest white thing.

 **"Sibling! Sibling will be fixed!"** The childlike thing chirped. 

He put a hand to his face. "For God's sake, we are not related."

The white thing, stubborn as it was, didn't give up. **"Sibling soul diluted! Sibling will be fixed!"**

The man cocked his head back, laughing. "Oh really? Is that so little one?" He knelt down to look the thing in the eye... eye hole. "Prove it. Prove to me that I have a soul. That soul exists. That this so called dilution is a bad thing."

The white little shit put a stubby little hand to its chin, thinking.

 **"Soul exists. Dilution bad. Can cause problems."**

He groaned. "WHAT problems, exactly. And you didn't PROVE to me that soul exists."

It reached a stubby little arm out, before feeling his face. **"Sibling soft. Probably dilution cause."**

"Child, I was soft BEFORE this whole apocalypse."

Upon hearing this, the thing froze. **"A-apocalypse?"** More of the white things came out from the hard to see rocks, before approaching him.

One with horns resembling a crown raised its hand. **"Sibling? What is... apocalypse?"**

He got up, before walking around the room to explore it. Huh. This was a big room. "Apocalypse... hmmm... well the definition is the complete and final destruction of the world, or a catastrophe that results in most, if not all of humanity to perish and be forced into chaos. I guess humans can be branched out to ANY civilization at this point, if gods are real."

 **"Shade father good. Shade father protects us, fixes broken siblings."**

He turned to look at one of the things. It had horns reminiscent of a deer. "Here's the problem kid, you haven't PROVEN" He raised his arms to emphasize, before continuing "that dilution is bad, let alone the existence of souls, and we are not related. Perhaps by a few genes, but no other relation."

The deer like white thing shook its head. **"No. Sibling broken. Sibling diluted. We no able to prove soul exist, but Shade father can."**

He resisted the urge to pick it up and throw it. It sounded and SPOKE like a child, and it sure as hell acted like one. "You are stubborn."

**"So are you."**

The man sat down, yawning. "Alright, to pass the time until this so called Shade father arrives, who wants to hear some stories? I can still remember a few, if you want to hear them."

The white things immediately flocked to him. **"We do!"**

He cleared his throat. "Alright. First story, the monkey and the turtle. A monkey, looking very sad and dejected..."

* * *

The Shade Lord flew along, entering his Abyss. Finally, he can fix his children. 

He flew deeper into the Abyss. He wondered, what would his children do now? Perhaps they would talk about more things they saw while outside.

The Lord did allow them to leave the Abyss at some points, as long as they were accompanied by him or other children. 

Now... where did they? Ah.

 **"My children."**

Upon hearing this, his children turned to look at him. **"Father! Broken sibling tell us story! What is monkey and turtle?"**

Hmmm... that sounded interesting. So he reached into the mind of his broken child, to understand these... things. 

Apparently, a monkey was able to climb, liked a yellow fruit called a banana, and usually had brown... fur. It also had a long tail. They weren't able to speak, but this was a story meant for children the broken sibling was telling them. Turtles also weren't able to speak, were slow, but could swim, and had a protective shell.

He explained this to his children. **"Broken sibling want to see if soul exist, and why dilution bad. Broken sibling stubborn."**

The broken child laughed. "Oh I'm stubborn, just like you. Wonderful!" He could feel so much sarcasm from that sentence, and he didn't even need to reach into the child's mind.

Of course, the rest of his children didn't know any better, but a few did. Hopefully, his children could grow and fend for themselves, if he ever passes away. Which may come in the next 10 centuries or so.

 **"My child, you wish to see why dilution is bad, and if soul exists, correct?"** The broken child nodded.

They got up. "And for the record, I'm technically not a child. I'm a legal adult. 25 years old." 25 years was not even an adult's age if compared to the rest of his children. However, this child did seem to be more mature than his children, and more knowledgeable. 

The Shade Lord flew closer to the broken child. **"Come to me, and I will show you. But in exchange... perhaps you could prove to us the existence of this... humanity civilization that predates us."**

* * *

The man nodded. "Deal."

He walked into the black cloud, reminiscent of the ink that squids would use as a defense mechanism. Honestly, if this is what happened to animals on land, he really did NOT want to see what happened in the ocean.

A lot of things crossed his mind as he walked deeper and deeper into the cloud. He thought of a certain series with haunted animatronics, a series with stickfigures, and How To Basic.

Why did he... oh well. He was gonna die either way. This better be worth it. So he walked faster and faster.

**"Child... Michael... you may stop now. This is where I will show you your soul."**

So the cloud knew his name. Wonderful! It could read minds. So he decided to test that theory. He thought of gore, blood, and the worst humanity had to offer.

He could've sworn he felt the cloud flinch. "You're probably gonna do something to my brain to make me think what I'm seeing is real, aren't ya? If gods are real, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to use their powers to manipulate people. Especially you."

The man put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Actually, maybe not you. You remind me more of a demented old man with the powers of a god. Yeah, that's it."

**"I may be comparable to an old man, but I truly care for you. I will not stop until you are fixed."**

"That reminds me of why I entered this cloud in the first place. So please, show me."

He looked to his chest, before seeing a multicolored light leave it. The lights seemed fused to each other. **"This, my child, is your soul. The yellow motes are dream essence. Dream essence is what you may see while dreaming in this altered world. Well, altered to you, it seems. The white particles are SOUL. SOUL gives life. You may confuse it with a person's soul. SOUL is actually what most normal bugs have in them. It is what animates them."**

The cloud continued to explain. **"The red flames and motes are nightmare flames. They are what you may see while having a bad dream, a nightmare. Some gods feast off these flames in order to live. Don't worry, most bugs don't need these flames to live. Apparently, you don't either. The black particles are void. It is exactly what you think it is. Nothingness, condensed into a physical form."**

8 pairs of eyes appeared in the cloud, looking at him. **"Now my child, for your end of the bargain. Show me proof of these human civilizations. Show us proof that it predates us. Simply think of it, and I will see for myself."**

So he thought of what he remembered about humanity. The world wars, the war crimes, but then he moved on to more... peaceful thoughts. Religions, science, medical advancements, restaurants, horror games, literature, and his parents. 

He had to fight back tears at the last one. This was all from memory, so he might start forgetting how his parents even looked like. No, no no no. He would not lose their memories too.

 **"Child... I have seen enough."**

The cloud stopped enveloping him, moving away from him. He could finally see the rest of the white headed things and the rest of the room. **"Child, this is no room. This is the Abyss. Please, do not let the name strike fear into your heart. I simply named it because it was just that. An abyss."**

He breathed in, before breathing out. The man wiped his eyes with his arm. "So, happy now? Let me guess, you're gonna say my memories are fake, call them bad, erase them, ERASE WHO I AM, THEN TURN ME INTO MORE OF YOUR CHILDREN!? YOU'RE GOING TO ERASE ME! YOU'RE GOING TO GET RID OF WHAT MAKES ME WHAT I AM! YOU'RE GOING TO-"

**"Hush now, my child. It is alright. I will not modify your memories. You may stay here, of your own volition. I will not force my own child to be someone they do not wish to be."**

"T-thanks. Oh wait." He calmed down, before looking at the cloud. "You forgot to explain to me, why is dilution bad?" 

**"Dilution is bad because some elements are not meant to be together. In fact, they will harm one another. Void will consume any of them. Nightmare flames attempt to subdue or overpower dream essence. SOUL can be overpowered by any of those elements, due to being the base element and thus being the weakest."**

"So... I guess we're only related by soul. If I told other people about this they would call be crazy."

The cloud approached the man. **"So what is your choice, Michael?"**

The man looked the cloud in the eye. There was no eye to look at. "I'll stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this shade lord doesnt call himself a he with a capital h because in his pov, hes just another person, but doing what he has to with the powers of a god to help him accomplish those things  
> but to his children, they see him as an almighty father figure, so they refer to him with a capital h.


End file.
